You Can’t Always Get What You Want
By Sam Cutler
Publisher: ECW Press
Released: February, 2010
Reviewed: May, 2010

The sixties were both an idyllic and turbulent time. For Sam Cutler, the last year of that decade certainly seemed to have started out as idyllic with him landing what appeared to be the uber sweet gig as road manager for the Rolling Stones’ U.S. tour. However, as with society, Cutler’s decade ended with a turbulence that would haunt him to this day.

This curse – this albatross, as it were, was a disaster called “Altamont”.

Much has been written and speculated about the horrific concert. A film, Gimme Shelter, was even made of the tragic events on December 6, 1969. And, while lawsuits and trials resulted, a full official investigation into what happened at the northern California festival has never been conducted.

For the first time, Sam Cutler tells what he knows, and what he suspects, surrounding the events leading up to, through and after that fateful day. If what he says is even half accurate, the implications can be quite frightening.

I’m not going to tell you the story otherwise why bother to purchase the book?

As incredible and compelling of a story the whole Altamont event, and Cutler’s insight into it, are, Sam has much, much more to share. The book reads like a who’s who of rock and roll royalty. You’ll also gain incredible insight into the unique world of the Grateful Dead, whom Cutler went to work for after the Stones literally abandoned him immediately after Altamont.

For business geeks like me, you’ll be mesmerized by the multiple stories of the rough and tumble world of road management in a rock and roll circus. It’s tough, it’s scary and it’s not for the faint of heart.

Sam Cutler tells it like it is. The sex. The drugs. The rock and roll. It’s all there in all of its glory. So are the stories of our favorite rock icons. Did you know that they’re actually human?

Who woulda thunk it?

If you love classic rock and have a fond appreciation of the sixties and seventies, the Sam Cutler’s You Can’t Always Get What You Want is a must have for your library. Seriously.

You can also track Sam via his website. He’s quite a guy who still has a lot to say.